Closure for drink containers

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to improving a closure for drink containers ( 1 ) having a substantially cylindrical neck ( 2 ) with an end opening and a closure cap ( 3 ), such that it enables significant simplification of the closure design and thereby allows simple and secure closing of barrels at the same or even increased strength of the neck arrangement. The aim is achieved in that the neck ( 2 ) comprises an interior circumferential detent collar ( 4 ) and the closure cap ( 3 ) comprises an insertion shaft ( 5 ), having a peripheral detent groove ( 6 ) on the outer circumference thereof that corresponds to the detent collar ( 4 ) and is profiled in the insertion direction, wherein the detent grove ( 6 ) extends across the detent collar ( 4 ) on the ring surface ( 7 ) thereof located in the insertion direction.

The invention relates to a closure for beverage containers having asubstantially cylindrical neck with an end opening and a closure cap.

Various developments of beverage containers with generic closures areknown. They are widely used in particular as keg vessels. These aredifferent sizes of beverage vessels that, in the majority of cases, aremade from metal and where applicable have rubber casings. At the topend, the vessels have a substantially cylindrical neck with an endopening. Said opening is closed with a closure cap. Said capconventionally has a valve and a connection for a coupling element to atap or the like. The valve is connected to a tube that is located insidethe vessel and extends as far as the bottom region of the vessel, thecontents of the vessel being pressed up to the valve via said tube whenan overpressure is generated in the interior of the vessel.

A number of different systems are known for connecting the closure capto the neck. WO 2007/064277 A1, for example, shows an arrangement wherethe closure cap engages over the neck on the outside and there, by meansof a positive locking arrangement between circumferential grooves andcorresponding collars, enables the closure cap to be locked to thevessel neck. In addition, the neck also has a circumferential ringunderneath the closure cap, which is necessary for the stabilization andhandling of the vessel.

Additional vessel closures are made known, for example, in DE 101 38 365A1, EP 0 915 283 B1 or DE 36 08 300 A1.

The container closures according to the invention, however, have anumber of disadvantages. In particular, they are complex and costly,difficult to clean and for stability reasons have to have strengtheningin the neck region in order to be able to absorb the sometimes highmechanical loads and, in particular, the pressure loads in the interiorof the vessel.

In contrast, the invention is to make possible clear simplification ofthe development of the closure and thus, with the neck arrangementhaving the same or even greater stability, provide a simple, reliablevessel closure.

The invention achieves this by a closure for beverage containers withthe features of claim 1.

The inside detent collar interacts with the detent groove that islocated on the outside circumference of the substantially ring-shapedinsertion shaft in such a manner that, after the closure cap has beeninserted, the detent groove can be displaced by the tapering profilingover the detent collar and, after it has been pushed in, it engages oversaid detent collar on the underside so that the detent groove is lockedin a circumferential manner to the ring surface of the detent collarthat lies in the direction of insertion and a reliable holding of theclosure cap is ensured in this manner. The profiling of the detentgroove, in this case, is realized in a tapered manner in the directionof insertion so that simple insertion of the cap is possible. Thedimensioning of the effective depths of detent collar and correspondingdetent groove are designed such that a secure hold of the closure cap isensured.

This means that, in this manner, the entire development of the surfacethat is necessary for the holding of the cap is situated in the interiorof the neck, which leaves open the greatest possible developmentpossibilities for the outside neck region with, at the same time, atleast the same or greater stability of the overall arrangement.

This container development according to the invention, consequently,offers a number of advantages compared to the known containerdevelopments. In particular, the outside of the container neck can takeon multifarious developments, depending on the desired application. Forexample, it can be totally smooth, have a circumferential ring forcompatibility with existing systems or can even have a circumferentialgroove so that a particularly compact and nevertheless reliablygraspable container development is created. At the same time, by meansof the inside locking of the container to the closure cap, a reliableconnection between the two elements is made possible, protecting thecontents of the container reliably against environmental influences andhaving a high degree of pressure resistance and similar. Developments ofthe invention are produced from the sub claims.

It can be provided that the closure cap has a circumferential supportand/or guiding ring, which engages over the neck on the outside.

Said ring is developed such that it engages over the neck opening on theoutside and in this way, on the one hand, enables precise guiding of thecap when it is being fitted and, on the other hand, makes possible atransfer of force from the inside insertion shaft via the top side ofthe closure cap to the outside of the neck so that improved stabilityand holding characteristics of the cap arrangement are created.

It can be provided that a seal is provided on the ring surface of thedetent collar on the opening side.

An upper circumferential sealing ring thus provides an advantageouspossibility for sealing off the beverage container from the environmentas the closure cap, once fitted, is pressed against the seal and lockson the lower ring surface of the detent collar so that a reliableforcible pressing force acts on the seal and provides a good sealingeffect.

It can also be provided that a seal is provided on the outer surface ofthe insertion shaft.

By dimensioning the individual parts in a corresponding manner, inparticular the sealing ring, a good sealing effect can also be achievedbetween the inside surface of the detent collar and the outside surfaceof the insertion shaft by placing a seal between the two.

It is provided in one development that the neck has a circumferentialsupport ring on the outside.

Such types of support rings, also called neck rings, are known forcertain versions of keg or vessel. However, they are used in this casein particular for stabilising the overall arrangement. This is preciselywhat is not necessary in the case of the neck development according tothe invention. Nevertheless, a corresponding ring can be provided on theoutside, said ring in this case being used substantially forcompatibility with existing filling or tap systems and no longer beingnecessary for the actual stability and functioning of the containerclosure.

Consequently, it can also be provided that the neck has acircumferential holding and/or guiding groove on the outside.

This type of groove can also be provided as a possibility for automaticbeverage container handling. The containers can also be reliably graspedat such a groove and conveyed through the systems necessary for fillingand the like. Since, as mentioned, the neck development according to theinvention no longer requires measures increasing stability on theoutside, a similar functionality can also be achieved by means of thegroove.

It can be advantageous for the neck to have a circumferential supportring on the inside.

The overall arrangement can be stabilized even further by means of thistype of support ring, in particular in relation to mechanical loads fromoutside and in relation to overpressure in the interior.

In this case it can be advantageous for the circumferential support ringon the inside to be developed in such a manner that when the closure capis deformed, the detent groove jams with the support ring.

In a development of this type, the support ring sits underneath thecircumferential detent collar at a spacing that is required for allowingreliable entering and locking of the detent groove to the lower ringsurface of the detent collar. In addition, the spacing is selected suchthat when the closure cap is deformed, the corresponding bending uptransferred by the insertion shaft acts in such a manner on the detentgroove that said detent groove contacts the support ring below and thusa jamming effect is generated increasing the stability even more.

Additional advantages and features of the invention are produced fromthe drawings, in which

FIG. 1 shows a partially sectional side view of a first development of aclosure according to the invention,

FIG. 2 shows a partially sectional side view of a second development ofa closure according to the invention,

FIG. 3 shows a partially sectional side view of a third development of aclosure according to the invention,

FIG. 4 shows a partially sectional side view of a fourth development ofa closure according to the invention and

FIG. 5 shows a partially sectional side view of a fifth development of aclosure according to the invention.

A beverage container, given the general reference 1, is represented inmore detail in FIG. 1. It has a substantially cylindrical neck 2, aclosure cap 3 being located at the upper opening of said neck and anopening for an extraction valve being situated in said closure cap. Theneck 2 has an interior circumferential detent collar 4. The closure cap3 has an insertion shaft 5, a circumferential detent groove 6 beinglocated at the end of said insertion shaft remote from the cap 3 andbeing profiled in a bevelled manner in the direction of insertion suchthat easy insertion is possible. The detent groove 6 is realized suchthat, once it has been inserted, it engages over the ring surface 7 ofthe detent collar 4 lying in the direction of insertion. A ring seal 9is located on the oppositely situated ring surface 8 of the detentcollar 4. In addition, a circumferential support ring 10 on the outsideof the neck is provided for the reliable grasping of the beveragecontainer 1 using known systems.

In the case of the variant of the closure according to the inventionrepresented in FIG. 2, the container is developed in an analogous mannerto the version represented in FIG. 1. The closure cap, in addition tothe features that are present as represented in the development in FIG.1, has a support and/or guiding ring 11, which engages across the neckopening on the outside and in this way can form with detent groove 6 fora counter force against the shaft 5 that extends in the interior and, inaddition, further simplifies the fitting process by means of aninclination at the end lying in the direction of insertion.

Furthermore, a circumferential ring seal 12 is provided on the surfaceof the shaft 5 lying facing the container neck in addition to the ringseal 9 lying on the detent collar 4, which provides another improvementin the sealing effect.

In the case of the development provided in FIG. 3, the development ofthe closure cap 3 is analogous to the cap development represented inFIG. 2. However, the neck 2 of the beverage container 1 has acircumferential holding and/or guiding groove 13, which is used as analternative to enable the container 1 to be grasped at its neck 2 andmoved in a mechanical manner.

An analogous development is selected in the case of the containervariant represented in FIG. 4, in this case the neck 2 being realized ina completely flat manner on the outside and thus has neither a supportring 10 nor a holding and/or guiding groove 13. The development isotherwise analogous to the previously described development as regardsboth the closure cap 3 and the opening region of the beverage containerneck 2.

In the case of the development of the beverage container neck 2according to the invention represented in FIG. 5, an insidecircumferential support ring 14 is provided in addition to thedevelopment described previously. Said support ring initially stabilizesthe neck opening in a mechanical manner. In addition, the spacingbetween support ring 14 and the ring surface of the detent collar 4 thatis situated opposite in the direction of the opening is selected in sucha manner that the detent groove 6 engages in the groove formed betweensupport ring 14 and ring surface 7. In this case, the spacing isadditionally selected such that when there is deformation of the closurecap 3, a jamming is effected between the groove 6 and the support ring14 in connection with the ring surface 7 and this can increase thestability of the overall arrangement in such cases in a considerablemanner.

The variant shown in FIG. 5 is further improved to the effect that theseal 15 is located in such a manner between the lower end of the detentgroove 6 and the support ring 14 that the ring space 16, which is formedbetween neck 2 and the detent groove 6, is completely hermeticallysealed. The bridging of the spacing between detent groove 6 and supportring 14 by the seal 15 results in another mechanical supporting of theclosure cap 3 such that said closure cap can be designed even flatterand more delicately.

Naturally, the invention is not limited to the present exemplaryembodiments, but can be converted in a wide respect without departingfrom the inventive concept.

Thus, for example, the developments of the neck just as the dimensioningof the individual components are dependent on the application and arevariable.

LIST OF REFERENCES

-   -   1 Beverage container    -   2 Neck    -   3 Closure cap    -   4 Detent collar    -   5 Insertion shaft    -   6 Detent groove    -   7 Ring surface    -   8 Ring surface    -   9 Seal    -   10 Support ring    -   11 Guiding ring    -   12 Seal    -   13 Guiding groove    -   14 Support ring    -   15 Seal    -   16 Ring space

1. A closure for beverage containers having a substantially cylindricalneck with an end opening and a closure cap, wherein the neck has aninside circumferential detent collar and wherein the closure cap has aninsertion shaft, and a circumferential detent groove provided on anouter circumference thereof, the detent groove corresponding to thedetent collar and being profiled in a direction of insertion, whereinthe detent groove engages over the detent collar on a ring surfacethereof that lies in the direction of insertion.
 2. The closureaccording to claim 1, wherein the closure cap has a circumferentialsupport and/or guide ring (11), which engages over an outside of theneck.
 3. The closure according to claim 1, further comprising a seal ona ring surface (8) of the detent collar on an opening side thereof. 4.The closure according to claim 1, further comprising a seal on the outersurface of the insertion shaft.
 5. The closure according to claim 1,further comprising a circumferential support ring (10) on an outside ofthe neck.
 6. The closure according to claim 1, further comprising acircumferential retaining and/or guiding groove on an outside of theneck.
 7. The closure according to claim 1, further comprising acircumferential support ring on an inside of the neck.
 8. The closureaccording to claim 7, wherein the circumferential support ring isconfigured such that deformation of the closure cap jams the detentgroove with the support ring.
 9. The closure according to claim 2,further comprising a seal on a ring surface of the detent collar on anopening side thereof.
 10. The closure according to claim 2, furthercomprising a seal on the outer surface of the insertion shaft.
 11. Theclosure according to claim 3, further comprising a seal on the outersurface of the insertion shaft.
 12. The closure according to claim 2,further comprising a circumferential support ring on an outside of theneck.
 13. The closure according to claim 3, further comprising acircumferential support ring on an outside of the neck.
 14. The closureaccording to claim 4, further comprising a circumferential support ringon an outside of the neck.
 15. The closure according to claim 2, furthercomprising a circumferential retaining and/or guiding groove on anoutside of the neck.
 16. The closure according to claim 3, furthercomprising a circumferential retaining and/or guiding groove on anoutside of the neck.
 17. The closure according to claim 4, furthercomprising a circumferential retaining and/or guiding groove on anoutside of the neck.
 18. The closure according to claim 5, furthercomprising a circumferential retaining and/or guiding groove on anoutside of the neck.
 19. The closure according to claim 2, furthercomprising a circumferential support ring on an inside of the neck. 20.The closure according to claim 3, further comprising a circumferentialsupport ring on an inside of the neck.